Monthly Archives: January 2015

What does Buddhism have to say about human sexuality?

What does Buddhism have to say about human sexuality? As human sexuality is such a strong and potentially disruptive force in human relations, the Buddha taught that it needs to be governed wisely. Lay Buddhists undertake a moral precept requiring them to refrain from all illicit forms of sexuality; the precept emphasizes adultery, but includes rape and sexual harassment. Buddhists are encouraged to take care of their senses and not indulge in sights, sounds, odors, tastes and toughing that over-stimulate sexual desire. The desire for sexual pleasure can, when indulged in blindly, lead to much suffering, and in some cases […]

What is the Buddhist attitude to women?

What is the Buddhist attitude to women? First and foremost, women are viewed as human beings subject to birth, old age, sickness and death: beings prone to suffering and with the ability and opportunity to transcend it. The Buddha made it very clear that the capacity for enlightenment is not gender-based. It is present by virtue of a human birth and women are viewed as having the same spiritual potential as men. In light of this view of their spiritual capacity, the Buddha gave women who wished to devote themselves wholeheartedly to his training the opportunity to become monastics. He […]

Why has so much blood been shed in the name of religion? Has Buddhism contributed to the carnage?

Why has so much blood been shed in the name of religion? Has Buddhism contributed to the carnage? Human beings need their lives to make sense, to have meaning and purpose. Religions appear to meet this need. As a consequence, most people adopt a set of religious beliefs or dogmas as a framework within which to understand their lives. But as there are number of belief systems, and each one tends to assert that it alone is the possessor of truth, the age-old conflict between belief systems and the passions they engender is inevitable. Despite all of the “religious” violence […]

Why do monks in Thailand receive offerings from women on a piece of cloth rather than directly from their hands?

Why do monks in Thailand receive offerings from women on a piece of cloth rather than directly from their hands? This practice was not laid down by the Buddha, and is not followed by monks in other Theravada countries. It is a convention (possibly copied from Khmer court ritual) that was adopted by the Thai Sangha some hundreds of years ago in order to maintain the formality of relations between monks and laywomen. Giving, by its nature, creates a certain sense of intimacy between the one who gives and the one who receives. By accepting offering on a cloth, the […]

Isn’t it better to work to make society a better place than to leave it in order to become a monk or nun?

Isn’t it better to work to make society a better place than to leave it in order to become a monk or nun? The monastic order is linked to society at large by a complex web of relationships. It might better be considered as one special part of society rather than a body outside of it altogether. Becoming a monastic does not entail cutting off all ties with the world, but of adopting a new relationship to it. Monastics uphold the integrity of the Buddha’s teachings, preventing them from becoming diluted or distorted. They put the teachings into practice and […]

Can buddhist women become monastics?

Can women become monastics? Yes, women can lead a monastic life, dedicating their lives to the study and practice of the Buddhist teachings, but not in quite the same way as the nuns of earlier generations. Unfortunately, the original nuns order, the Bhikkhuni Sangha, became extinct more than a thousand years ago. The prevailing (although not unanimous) view in Theravada Buddhist countries is that reviving the bhikkhuni order is not possible, as the requirements for bhikkhuni ordination laid down by the Buddha can no longer be fulfilled. Theravada being a tradition that defines itself by its conservative attitude to the […]